According to figures provided by Revenue, the production firm behind the movie, Woodside Pictures, received €2.4m in tax reliefs under the Section 481 Film Relief Scheme.

The overall value of the productions availing of the scheme in 2015 totalled €118m and the cost to the exchequer in tax reliefs totalled €17.4m.

The chief executive of the Irish Film Board, James Hickey, said yesterday that, based on the board's calculations the cost of projects that went into production in the independent film, television drama and animation sector is much higher at just under €200m.

"These figures take into account projects that received their Section 481 certificate from the Revenue under the old system at the end of 2014 but which actually went into production during 2015. It also takes into account projects which will be certified on the new system in 2016 but which went into production in 2015," Mr Hickey said.

"We believe that with the new more internationally competitive tax credit in 2016, we are looking forward to attracting many more exciting projects to Ireland in 2016," he added.

"Production activity has been at record levels for the past three years and we hope to maintain this positive trend creating increased job opportunities in Ireland as well as exporting Irish culture to worldwide audiences."

The Revenue returns show that the total cost of the I.T. movie amounted to €11.2m.

In total, 42 separate productions by 32 different production companies received tax reliefs.

The value of Telegael Teoranta's productions under Section 481 last year totalled €35.9m.